Blogs and Commentary

MCLA Division II Notebook

When word came down that the LSA would not have an automatic bid
to nationals because of the inability to amass the MCLA-mandated
six eligible teams, it looked like Sam Houston State might be in
for a world of hurt.

The Bearkats typically played an insular schedule, rarely
leaving the Lone Star State, knowing that they could crush their
conference competition with a handful of superior athletes. With no
AQ, Sam Houston would not only have to travel, but pick up a couple
of wins to impress the committee. Well, mission accomplished.

During their trip to Palm Beach in mid-March, the Bearkats beat
Elon — which is a lock to make the MCLA tournament —
and also dispatched a SCAD team that just lost in the SELC
tournament finals. Throw in a loss to Palm Beach Atlantic to help
the strength of schedule, and Sam Houston is ticketed to
Greenville.

"We should have not have any issues," confirmed Bearkats head
coach Jim Perouty. "We need to win our LSA tournament [which they
did], but the people who do the selection process — and I'm
happy to be one them — normally get it pretty darn right. I
think we should be in the Top 8, to be quite honest."

The presence of SHSU will rankle some because the Bearkats have
been glorified seed-holders at nationals. In its appearances over
the past the three seasons, Sam Houston has never been higher than
a 13 seed and has lost by an average of 18.7 goals in the first
round. In all three of those seasons, SHSU would not have qualified
for nationals without the LSA auto-bid.

Now, without that bid, they have managed to find their way to
Greenville once again. Should we expect anything different this
year?

"I really think that we'll be respectable this year compared to
how we've been in the past," countered Perouty. "We ran into good a
Dayton team in the playoffs last year. That's probably the best
team Charlie Mark has ever had Dayton and they were peaking at a
time when we didn't have the toughest schedule at the end of the
season. Before we even got out of the box, they were on top of us.
They were just a far superior team last year."

Sam Houston still has a similar look to year's past. The
Bearkats have a 20-man roster, includling goalies, and are
relatively top-heavy on their scoring. Still, Perouty insists that
this version of SHSU has evolved.

"When I first took over the team back in 2011, heck, it took me
halfway through the season to even figure out everyone's name,"
Perouty said. "The talent level wasn't as good, so we relied on
Zach [Fry] to take the meatball to the goal. But we run offensive
sets now and everyone has their place. It's effective. Michael Mann
and Travis Tabb, they put a ton of points on the board, but where
we used to get the ball and go to the goal, now we run offenses and
we put people in patterns. The thing we try to do is be more of a
team."

Mann (45g, 42a), Tabb (46g, 23a) and Logan Holmes (33g, 14a)
provide plenty of scoring punch for Sam Houston State, but they'll
also be bolstered by key guys at positions that can be
game-breakers in May. Sophomore Josh Evanski is running at 64.4
percent at the faceoff X while classmate Mikey Candler has a 65.6
save percentage in the cage. It was a big reason why SHSU was able
to finish 4-0 against LSA Division I competition, including an
overtime win over Texas State.

"The thing is that in the polls, D-I games don't count and
you're not supposed to look at them, but I look at them when I talk
to my guys," Perouty said. "I tell them that Texas State lost to
Boston College by two goals. BC is undefeated and ranked about No.
9 in D-I. So I think I we're a nice team."

Nice doesn't get you anywhere in the MCLA, especially with St.
Thomas running the show in Division II. And as much as Perouty
thinks they deserve it, the Bearkats earning a Top 8 seed in
Greenville is an ambitious goal. Alas, Sam Houston will be back in
the tournament once again regardless, hoping to replace a tradition
of futility with something more respectable.

- We're a week away from finding out the true answers, but
here's what I've got right now.

- Bridgewater State defeated No. 24 Stonehill, 16-15 in
overtime, giving the Bears their first win over the Skyhawks in
nine years. The victory also put BSC atop the PCLL North division,
ensuring a first round bye and a likely match-up with Briarcliffe
in the semifinals...it's been a rough season for Wabash in their
first go-around as an MCLA team. The Little Giants started the
season 0-8 and scored just 15 goals in those contests (1.9 goals
per game). Wabash played its final game of the season this past
Thursday against Butler and posted an 8-5 win. The nature of the
beast demands that I talk a lot about the best teams and the
biggest wins in the division, but sometimes it's important to
highlight the smallest victories. They can be the most
rewarding.

- Liberty posted the undefeated Division II season as they
bested SCAD in the championship game of the SELC tournament. The
Flames are a lock for Top 5 seed and could be the only team outside
of Westmisnter with the ability to make this year
interesting...with Missouri State's win over Washington U. on
Sunday, Lindenwood-Belleville avoided the awkward situation of
missing the GRLC conference tourney. Now that the Lynx are in, they
are still the favorite...St. Thomas won the UMLL auto bid.
Shocker...Grove City's 8-7 win over Michigan-Dearborn wasn't
exactly the statement win you'd expect out of the No. 1 seed in the
CCLA...GVSU's 17-8 whitewash of Dayton in the CCLA quarters was the
Flyers' death rattle.